


The Prince of Fools

by TheFoolsKnight



Series: Figment of Reality [2]
Category: The Eldest Curses Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: April Fool’s Day, Bad Poetry, Expectations vs Reality Extra, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, Humor, M/M, Pranks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23492827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsKnight/pseuds/TheFoolsKnight
Summary: Magnus Bane is called the Prince of Fools by his friends for a reason. But this time, Magnus is determined not to be fooled - not with his new relationship with Alec Lightwood hanging around the corner.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Figment of Reality [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690297
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	The Prince of Fools

Magnus hated April Fool's Day with a passion.

Mostly, it was because he was very gullible. He couldn’t tell the difference between a well-spoken lie and a truth, and was unsuspecting most of the time, which made him the perfect victim for pranks. His friends often called him the ‘Prince of Fools’.

This time, he vowed to be different. It was the first April Fool’s Day after he and Alec had  _ finally  _ started dating, and he couldn’t lose his face in front of Alec. It would be too embarrassing.

He almost decided to go to school wearing protective gear and a helmet. Almost.

Instead he wore some of his less glamorous clothes and minimal makeup. He had a set of spare clothing and his makeup bag in his backpack. He was completely prepared for the onslaught of pranks.

Not that there would be much prancing. It was usually just Ragnor and Catarina, accompanied by his significant other of that time, who pranked him. Most of the student body wouldn’t dare come near him. But over the last year, his circle of friends had expanded significantly, and Magnus was worried more than usual. Mostly because of Jace and Isabelle.  _ Especially  _ because Jace and Isabelle.

Magnus sat at the table, eating breakfast with Shinyun opposite him.

He was still not very unsure of her, but Alec had given him several words of advice, ways they could get to know each other. Magnus decided to try one now.

“So,” he asked casually, “What do you do in your free time?”

“I run a demonic cult downtown,” Shinyun replied, her voice blank. Magnus almost dropped his spoon.

“What?!”

Shinyun looked up at him. “I’m the leader of the cult. We worship one of the nine Princes of Hell. We’re going to try summoning him next week.”

Magnus just stared at her, his mouth slack. Shinyun ate a spoonful of her cereal, then said, without even a trace of a smile,

“I’m just joking. Happy April Fool’s Day.”

Magnus pressed his lips together and stared at her, annoyed. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since he’d made his resolve.

“Hey, Magnus,” said Jace from behind him. Magnus shut the door of his locker and turned around, annoyed.

“What?”

“Alec told me to tell you that he wants to meet you behind the bleachers at lunch,” Jace said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Magnus narrowed his eyes at Jace. “Oh,  _ really?” _

“Really,” Jace said, his grin widening a fraction. “Ask Alec if you don’t believe me.”

Magnus narrowed his eyes at Jace.

“He’s serious, Magnus,” Isabelle said, having come up behind Magnus. She was standing beside his locker, her arms crossed and a grin identical to Jace’s on her face. “He really does want to meet you there. He also told you to put on your best lipgloss.”

Magnus turned his narrowed eyes on her. “Nice try, but you can’t fool me.”

Isabelle shrugged eloquently, moving to stand beside Jace. They both stared at Magnus, their grins unsettling him. He looked at them, and then his locker, and then quickly opened it, standing behind the now open locker door as if it would shield him from whatever horror Jace and Isabelle had planned for him.

“Hey, guys! What’s-“

No sooner than he had opened the locker, a pie ricocheted out, slamming into poor Simon’s face who had just walked by to greet Isabelle and Jace. Simon stood in the middle of the hallway, the side of his face covered in pie. Clary was just a few bounding steps away from him and stared at Simon with wide eyes, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Jace and Isabelle had half-amused, half-alarmed expressions on their faces.

“A pie?” Magnus raised an eyebrow at the Lightwood siblings as Clary fished out a handkerchief from her bag and handed it to Simon. “Really?”

“Who knows?” Jace said, looking like he was trying not to laugh. “Maybe Alec would’ve licked it off for you.”

Magnus just gave him a tight-lipped stare.

A few hours later, Magnus went to the chemistry class and sat beside Alec - after taking a moment to appreciate his boyfriend from afar, of course. Alec was sitting with one hand propping up his head, and was scribbling something in his notebook. He looked angelic. And Magnus  _ finally  _ got to call him his boyfriend.

“Hey,” Magnus said, settling down on the hard bench.

“Hey,” Alec replied, glancing at him and giving him a small smile. Magnus returned the smile and resisted the urge to kiss him on the cheek.

“Did Jace tell you?” Alec asked, his voice a little uncertain as he went back to scribbling in the notebook.

Magnus stared. “The bleachers thing? Yeah, but I thought he was just joking around.”

“I don’t blame you. Jace takes April Fool’s Day very seriously,” Alec said, closing the notebook and giving Magnus all his attention.

“Yeah, he does seem the type,” Magnus said, thinking of the pie in his locker.

“He used to hang toy spiders above my head every April Fool’s Day, so I’d see them when I woke up and freaked out,” Alec said, sighing. “I didn’t fall for it the last few years, so he used a live spider this time.”

Magnus patted his head. “My poor baby.”

Alec gave him a tight lipped smile. Magnus just grinned back.

Then the chemistry teacher walked in, and Magnus internally sighed, knowing that Alec would be lost to him once the lecture started. Then again, Alec let him hold his hand during the lectures, so Magnus didn’t mind much.

It was a little strange, Magnus thought, that once upon a time they sat at the opposite ends of this classroom, and now they were sitting right next to each other.

At lunch, Magnus avoided the cafeteria, which he knew would be a complete mess thanks to the annual April Fool’s Food Fight (which was a thing only at this school), and went straight to the bleachers. Behind the bleachers, he found Alec waiting for him, sitting on the grass with his backpack by his side. He looked a little worried, his foot tapping away on the ground, and his eyes were locked on his watch. 

Magnus smiled a little. He knew Alec often got worried about the smallest things sometimes.

“Hey, honey,” Magnus said, sitting down beside Alec. Alec started and whirled his head towards Magnus, relaxing when he saw him.

“Hey,” Alec said, blinking his long lashes at him. “You almost scared me.”

Magnus tilted his head a little. “Well, I could think of a few things to apologise for that.”

“Really?” Alec asked, raising an eyebrow as a faint brush stole his cheeks.

Magnus only smiled and leaned in, kissing Alec on the mouth. Alec responded immediately, his soft hands reaching up to bury themselves in Magnus’s hair. Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec’s waist and pulled him closer, lost in the feeling of his touch. They kissed wildly for a while, and then a sudden tension strummed throughout Alec’s body.

Magnus was about to ask what happened when Alec suddenly shoved him away. There was a sound like splashing water, and Magnus was lying on his side in the grass.

He looked up and saw Jace and Isabelle leaning over the top of the bleachers regarding them both - Alec with amusement and Magnus with disappointment. Magnus looked in Alec’s direction and saw him sitting in the grass, completely exasperated and drenched in water.

Alec glared up at his siblings. “ _ Very  _ funny, you two.”

Jace made a face at him. "It would've been funnier of you hadn't pushed Magnus away."

"And I must thank you for that," Magnus said, sitting upright and kissing Alec's wet cheek.

Alec sighed, blushing a little, and tugged at his wet sweater. "I guess I'll just have to wait for it to dry."

Magnus scoffed. "That sweater is going to take  _ ages  _ to dry. Same goes for your jeans."

Alec groaned, pushing his wet hair away from his face. "What should I do then?"

Magnus's grin was quicksilver. "I have a set of spare clothes."

Alec's eyes widened, and his cheeks turned red, and he was silent for several moments. He and Magnus just stared at each other, Magnus with a sort of giddiness, and Alec with deep contemplation and uncertainty, before he finally gave in with a sigh.

"Okay, fine."

"They're too tight!" Alec called out from inside the stall.

Magnus, who was leaning against the sink counter on the other side of the washroom and examining his nails, asked, "Do they fit or are they too small?"

"They fit, but they're really tight," Alec said. 

Magnus stamped down his growing smile and called out, "Come out, then!"

The door to the stall slowly opened and Alec hesitantly stepped out, looking delicious in Magnus's jeans which sleeked along the curves of his legs and hips, and a black t-shirt that had the words 'Blink if you want me' sequined on it. The shirt had short sleeves, which meant Alec's arms were out for the world to see.

Except he didn't want the world to see. He wanted to save this sight for himself.

Magnus slowly blinked, once, twice, then said, “You look good, actually.”

Alec opened his mouth to say something, but then Magnus cut him off.

“Actually, wait. That was the understatement of the century. You look  _ gorgeous.  _ You look like one of those wonderful statues from Ancient Greek.”

Alec blushed, shifting his weight from one foot to another as he surveyed himself in the mirror behind Magnus. “You’re exaggerating .”

“I’m not, darling. You look simply divine. There’s something missing, though,” Magnus said, scrutinising Alec’s appearance. Yes, he was definitely missing... _ something. _

“Missing what?” Alec asked, making feeble attempts to dry his hair using the hand dryers. Magnus watched him for a moment, running his hands through his hair as hot air spilled over it, and stealthily picked something up from his makeup bag.

“You’ll know soon,” Magnus said, slowly moving towards Alec with a sly smile on his face.

Alec noticed and paused, watching Magnus hesitantly. He straightened and watched Magnus come closer. “What are you doing?”

The corner of Magnus’s lips twitched. “Nothing.”

Alec narrowed his eyes at Magnus.

Approximately two seconds later, Magnus was clutching his sides and laughing, and Alec was desperately trying to rub off the glitter that covered him from head to toe.

“Magnus!” Alec cried out. “ _ Why?” _

“Sorry darling,” Magnus gasped out in between fits of laughter. “But I couldn’t resist.”

Alec pouted. There was glitter liberally sprinkled in his hair, on his face and shirt.

Magnus was still laughing when Alec wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Magnus's neck.

"Okay, okay," Magnus said, putting his arms around Alec. "I'm sorry. You have to admit it was funny, though."

"Hmmm," was all Alec said. He raised his head and nuzzled his cheek against Magnus's. "Apology accepted."

Magnus snorted.

Alec pulled away and appraised Magnus with an air of satisfaction. "Now you're covered in glitter, too."

Magnus's eyes widened. "You sneaky little-"

Alec laughed and ran out of the washroom, from where Magnus could hear Isabelle's shrieks. It was all he needed to know of what she thought about Alec's new look.

Magnus stepped out after looking at himself in the mirror. He was liberally covered in glitter - not that he minded, of course. Magnus stepped up out of the washroom to join Alec.

Isabelle's lips stretched into a grin upon seeing him, and Jace's eyebrow hit his hairline. He looked between Magnus and Alec, both of them covered in glitter.

"If you're going to do dirty things, please don't do them in dirty places," Jace said. Alec kicked his shin.

"Well, I'll be off now," Magnus said, looking at his watch. "I haven't eaten anything yet."

"I've got bagels," Alec said immediately. "We could share…?"

Jace turned his face heavenwards. "Good lord, please save this poor soul from the horrors of Alec's cooking."

Alec shot him a dirty look, and grabbed Magnus's hand. They left with Jace and Isabelle still snickering behind them.

"Oh no," Magnus said suddenly, the bagel in his hand forgotten.

"What happened?" Alec asked. They went back to the bleachers and sat on them, enjoying the bagels that Alec had bought in a bakery nearby. 

"Ragnor and Catarina," Magnus said. "They've been very quiet all day. I'm pretty sure they're planning something awful."

Alec frowned in concern. "They can't be  _ that  _ bad, right?"

Magnus shook his head. "You have no idea. Ragnor is very clever, and Catarina is very subtle. Together they're pros at the whole fooling thing. Last year, Catarina had convinced me that Chairman Meow was pregnant. Later that day I realised that Chairman’s male. And now they've even got that minx Raphael with them."

Alec patted his shoulder. "It'll be fine."

Magnus made a face.

"Hey." Alec was grinning, but he put an arm around Magnus and kissed his cheek. "It's fine. I'll protect you if it comes to it."

Magnus sighed and returned Alec's half-embrace. "Thank you, my knight in shining armor."

"You're welcome, my prince of fools."

Magnus's head turned sharply to look at Alec. "How do you know that?!"

Alec grinned. "Lily told me."

"And how did Lily know?"

"Raphael told her."

Magnus huffed out a breath. He knew exactly who must've told Raphael.

"Ragnor," he grumbled darkly, and took another bite of his bagel.

It wasn't until after school, when Magnus and Alec were hanging out in the parking lot that Magnus found out exactly what Catarina and Ragnor had in store for him. Catarina walked up to them, handing Alec a folded piece of paper, and said, "Alec, someone told me to give this letter to you.”

Magnus squinted at her. Catarina simply gave him a small smile and a shrug. Beside him, Alec opened the letter, his eyes flitting over the words. He had a very peculiar expression on his face - his eyes were a little wide, and his lips were pressed together tightly, slowly curving up into a smile. Magnus looked into the paper to see what it was and blanched.

It was a poem he had written about Alec a long time ago, and had never given it to him because it was embarrassing. It went like this -

_ My dear Alexander _

_ You make my heart wander _

_ Away from me, towards you _

_ My love for you is so, so, true _

_ You ask me, 'How, are you?' and I say 'Fine' _

_ But deep down, I just wish you were mine _

_ We could go out and have a fondue _

_ With a cherry on top and split in two _

_ They say, 'You are what you eat' _

_ Is that why you're so sweet? _

_ Because, darling, your voice is just like honey _

_ And your smile is always bright and sunny _

_ And all I want is to look into your eyes so blue _

_ And say 'Alexander, baby, I love you.' _

At the bottom of the page was written -  _ By Magnus _

Magnus’s jaw dropped and he looked at Catarina, unable to believe she could do something so cruel.

‘It was Ragnor’s idea,’ she mouthed at him. ‘Happy April Fool’s.’

Magnus shut his mouth and was about to open it again to screech and bang his head against a car and then curl into a ball and try to disappear when Alec looked at him.

“You wrote this?” he asked, a twinkle in his eyes, and the twinkle made Magnus hesitate.

Magnus squared his shoulders and looked away. “No.”

“He did,” Ragnor said, having jumped into existence out of nowhere. “I was there.”

Catarina nodded. “You can also ask your siblings and friends.”

Magnus glared at them both. He was going to die of embarrassment. His friends would then be the only ones to blame for his death.

But then Alec put his arms around Magnus’s neck, the paper crinkling in his hand, and kissed Magnus on the cheek.

“Love you too,” he whispered.

Magnus blinked. “You… you liked it?”

Alec nodded, the twinkle in his eyes having gotten brighter. “I liked it.”

“Oh, I just- I read it to your siblings and they, um, laughed.”

Alec huffed. “Jace and Isabelle have no tact. They’ll laugh at everything. I  _ really  _ liked it.”

Alec kissed his cheek again, and Magnus took it. Alec was still very new to dating, and rarely expressed his affection for Magnus in public. It had taken a lot of coaxing from Magnus’s side to get Alec to make out with him behind the bleachers for the first time.

When Magnus looked away from Alec, Ragnor and Catarina were gone. He was so going to take revenge for what they did.

“What do you say we go to my home and hang out?” Magnus asked, his voice low.

Alec smiled. “I’d love that.”

They walked out of the parking lot, hand in hand.

Okay, maybe this April Fool’s Day wasn’t all  _ that _ bad.


End file.
